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. 2021 Aug 16;48(15):e2021GL093470.
doi: 10.1029/2021GL093470. Epub 2021 Jul 29.

Impact of Mesoscale Eddies on Deep Chlorophyll Maxima

Marin Cornec  1 , Rémi Laxenaire  2   3 , Sabrina Speich  3 , Hervé Claustre  1
Affiliations

Impact of Mesoscale Eddies on Deep Chlorophyll Maxima

Marin Cornec et al. Geophys Res Lett. .

Abstract

Deep Chlorophyll Maxima (DCM) are ubiquitous features in stratified oceanic systems. Their establishment and maintenance result from hydrographical stability favoring specific environmental conditions with respect to light and nutrient availability required for phytoplankton growth. This stability can potentially be challenged by mesoscale eddies impacting the water column's vertical structure and thus the environmental parameters that condition the subsistence of DCMs. Here, data from the global BGC-Argo float network are collocated with mesoscale eddies to explore their impact on DCMs. We show that cyclonic eddies, by providing optimal light and nutrient conditions, increase the occurrence of DCMs characterized by Deep Biomass Maxima for phytoplankton. In contrast, DCMs in anticyclonic eddies seem to be driven by photoacclimation as they coincide with Deep Acclimation Maxima without biomass accumulation. These findings suggest that the two types of eddies potentially have different impacts on the role of DCMs in global primary production.

Keywords: BGC argo; deep chlorophyll maximum; irradiance; mesoscale eddies.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Map of the BGC‐Argo profile database and percentages of distributions of profile types regarding to their biological types (No deep maxima, Deep photoAcclimation Maximum, and Deep Biomass Maximum; inner circles), and mean percentages of eddy polarities and sections regarding to the BGC‐Argo database sampling (Cyclonic eddies and Anticyclonic eddies cores and edges, outside of eddy influence; outer circles) per 20°‐latitude bands (black lines). The color of the points corresponds to the profile position regarding to eddies presence, polarity and section (same color scale as for the outer circles).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Percentages of Deep Biomass Maximum and Deep photoAcclimation Maxima profiles regarding to the total number of profiles within each zone (Cyclonic eddies/Anticyclonic eddies cores and edges section, and outside of eddies influence).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Monthly anomalies as percentages of each types of Deep Chlorophyll Maximum (DCM) profiles (i.e., Deep photoAcclimation Maximum or Deep Biomass Maximum) in Cyclonic eddies (a) and Anticyclonic eddies (b) cores compared to the percentages outside eddy influence within the 30°S–30°N latitudinal band. The green line represents total DCM profile anomalies. The seasonality determination is appropriate for both hemispheres, in accordance of how it is treated in the main text.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Quartile diagrams of regional anomalies of Deep Chlorophyll Maximum profile characteristics (a) and environmental parameters (b) for the stratified regions as a function of their location within each eddy zone (Cyclonic eddies/Anticyclonic eddies cores and edges section), all four locations being compared to the parameters outside eddy influence, that is, outside of eddies influence.
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